Nepali Sherpa Saves Malaysian Climber In Mount Everest Rescue
Recently, a family in Singapore faced a tragedy when their loved one went missing on Mount Everest.
A Malaysian climber avoided a similar fate thanks to the efforts of some Nepali guides.
Gelje Sherpa came across the stranded climber while on his way to the Everest summit with a Chinese client.
In attempting to save the life of the climber, Gelje carried him on his back for about six hours.
Pulls off rescue after finding climber in Mount Everest death zone
Reuters reported that the rescue happened on 18 May when Gelje stumbled upon the shivering climber.
The climber was described to have been clinging to a rope and shivering from the extreme cold.
As it turns out, the unfortunate climber had been stuck in the mountain’s “death zone” — a point above 8,000m where temperatures can go below -30°C.
Source: Gelje Sherpa/Handout via REUTERS
Although Gelje had been guiding a client to the summit at the time, he convinced the latter to abandon the attempt.
“Saving one life is more important than praying at the monastery,” he said.
A video of the rescue shows Gelje carrying the wrapped-up climber on his back.
Source: @gelje_sherpa_ on Instagram
After manually lifting the climber from the Balcony area to Camp III at the 7,162 metre point, a helicopter used a long line to carry him to base camp.
Source: @gelje_sherpa_ on Instagram
According to the Himalayan Wonders website, the Balcony area is located at an 8,4000-metre altitude — just shy of Mount Everest’s peak.
As such, the guides had carried the climber for over 1,000 metres in the rescue attempt.
Speaking to Reuters, a spokesperson from Nepal’s Department of Tourism described that rescue missions from that altitude are “almost impossible”.
Thankfully though, the guides pulled it off in this recent attempt.
At least 12 climbers dead this year
News of the rescue came amidst the highest fatality count on Mount Everest in recent years.
A separate report by Reuters on 26 May said that there have been 12 deaths so far this season.
Meanwhile, at least three other climbers are still missing or uncontactable.
Based on recent reports, a Singaporean and a Malaysian man are among those missing on Mount Everest.
The identity of the Malaysian climber that Gelje rescued is unclear.
Nepali guide succeeds in rare Mount Everest rescue
Kudos to Gelje Sherpa and the other guides for their successful rescue.
Thanks to their heroic efforts and expertise, a life was potentially saved from the bitter cold of the Himalayas.
We hope that the Malaysian climber is recuperating well and will return to full health soon.
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Featured image adapted from Reuters and Gelje Sherpa on Facebook.
